On 2 September 2024, Justice Duncan Gaswaga, a Ugandan national, was sworn in as a new Justice of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Court). In addition, two other Justices, Justice Stella Isibhakhomen Anukam from Nigeria and Justice Blaise Tchikaya from the Republic of Congo, were sworn into begin a second and final six-year term. They were all elected by the AU Executive Council during its 45th Ordinary Session held on 18-19 July 2024 in Accra, Ghana.
The eleven Judges on the Court are nominated and elected to reflect sub-regional and gender representation. Two Judges, one male and one female, are elected from each of the sub-regions. The eleventh Judge roves between regions.
Justice Duncan Gaswaga will represent the East Africa sub-region on the African Court, replacing Justice Ben Kioko from Kenya. He was opposed by one candidate, a Kenyan national Judge Samuel Kimeu. Two candidates, Justice Anukam (incumbent) and Judge Marie Ndiaye were also nominated to fill the vacancy in respect of West Africa. Justice Tchikaya was elected unopposed. Just before the elections, nominations for Judges Kimeu and Ndiaye were withdrawn paving the way for the incumbents and Judge Gaswaga to be elected
While congratulating the judges and wishing them a fruitful session, the Arusha Initiative decries the low number of candidate nominations and the withdrawal of nominated candidates on election day. Moreover, the initiative is concerned about the lack of transparency around the national nomination processes and the absence of a system to facilitate citizens participation in the processes.
The Arusha Initiative considers the process of nomination and selection of members of human rights mechanisms in Africa a critical pillar of human rights protection. It must, therefore, be transparent, participatory, and merit-based. Such an approach brings the AU institutions closer to the people of Africa. It strengthens the authority and legitimacy of the AU human rights bodies by encouraging a more inclusive and participatory nomination and selection process of important AU positions. The failure of state parties to nominate more possible candidates reflects a lack of transparency and participation in the process of nomination and selection of Judges to the African Court. This lack of transparency and competition may be an impediment to the selection of the best qualified candidates to these institutions.
On its part, the Arusha Initiative launched a campaign aiming to assist the State Party-led nomination process by identifying experts who meet the criteria for serving at African human rights bodies - as Judges of the African Court, Commissioners of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and as Members of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child – as and when the positions become vacant. The campaign is led by rights-holders across the continent who respond to a call for anonymised submissions of names of persons they consider suitable for appointment, together with a brief justification.
The first awareness raising campaign was launched concerning the election and re-election of the three Judges who started their terms on 2 September 2024. This was done side by side with a critical review of the suitability of some of the nominees. While the assessment of new nominees was done against the criteria provided for in the African Court Protocol, such as independence, impartiality, human rights expertise, judicial quality and efficiency, in the case of incumbents, Judges’ individual opinions (as separate concurring opinion or dissenting opinions) were analysed as a window into their judicial reasoning and contribution to the Court’s jurisprudence.
The Arusha Initiatives urges all member states of the African Union to adopt processes that guarantee greater transparency and participation in the nomination and selection of member of human rights mechanisms. States must also ensure that the best candidates are nominated and selected to lead this mechanisms.
For more information, please contact:
Sophia Ebby
coordinator@africancourtcoalition.org
+255686421662
Ikechukwu Uzoma
uzoma@rfkhumanrights.org
+18323638383
Brian Kirbirango
brian.kibirango@up.ac.za
+27680318715
